Method and apparatus for adaptive antenna configuration in a user equipment

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method and system for adaptive antenna configuration in a user equipment comprising one or more antenna modules, each of the one or more antenna modules comprising a plurality of patch elements. The method comprises: determining whether a signal strength of the UE is above a signal threshold, determining whether a mobility of the UE is below a mobility threshold based on determining that the signal strength is above the signal threshold, determining at least one active antenna module based on determining that the mobility of the UE is below the mobility threshold, and deactivating at least one patch element in the at least one antenna module.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for adaptive antenna configuration in a user equipment comprising one or more antenna modules, each of the one or more antenna modules comprising a plurality of patch elements, the method comprising:
 determining whether a signal strength of the user equipment (UE) is above a signal threshold;   determining whether a mobility of the UE is below a mobility threshold, based on determining that the signal strength is above the signal threshold;   determining at least one active antenna module among the one or more antenna modules, based on determining that the mobility of the UE is below the mobility threshold; and   deactivating at least one patch element among the plurality of patch elements in the at least one active antenna module.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a number of the patch elements to be deactivated, wherein the plurality of current antenna performance parameters is better than the plurality of predetermined antenna parameters, with deactivation of the number of the patch elements.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 storing the number of patch elements to be deactivated in a memory together with its associated parameters, wherein the associated parameters include at least one of configuration id, application type, associated cell information, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of antenna performance parameters includes at least one of an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) transmission power, a block error rate (BLER) and antenna gain of the at least one active antenna module. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 calculating a current plurality of antenna performance parameters after deactivating the at least one patch element;   comparing the current plurality of antenna performance parameters with a predetermined plurality of antenna parameters; and   deactivating or activating one or more patch elements of the at least one active module, based on a result of the comparison   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the predetermined plurality of antenna parameters is determined before deactivation of the at least one patch element. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a paging information to be decoded; and   decoding the paging information with the number of deactivated patch elements.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether the UE is to transmit or receive signalling information (SI); and   transmitting or receiving the signalling information (SI) with the number of deactivated patch elements.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether an uplink/downlink (UL/DL) activity of the UE is below a threshold;   determining whether a block error rate (BLER) is within a specified range based on determining that the UL/DL activity of the UE is below the threshold;   deactivating the one or more patch elements of the at least one antenna module based on determining that the BLER is within the specified range;   monitoring change in the BLER after deactivation of the one or more patch elements;   determining whether the change in the BLER is above a down threshold; and   performing the UL/DL activity with the deactivated one or more patch elements, based on determining that the change in the BLER is above the down threshold.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of patch elements corresponds to a plurality of phased array elements. 
     
     
         11 . A user equipment (UE) for adaptive antenna configuration, the UE comprising:
 one or more antenna modules, each of the one or more antenna modules comprising a plurality of patch elements;   a memory; and   a processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
 determine whether a signal strength of the UE is above a signal threshold, 
 determine whether a mobility of the UE is a specified mobility threshold, based on determining that the signal strength is above the signal threshold, 
 determine at least one active antenna module among the one or more antenna modules, based on determining that the mobility of the UE is below the mobility threshold, and 
 deactivate at least one patch element among the plurality of patch elements in the at least one active antenna module. 
   
     
     
         12 . The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor further configured to:
 determine a number of the patch elements to be deactivated, wherein the plurality of current antenna performance parameters is better than the plurality of predetermined antenna parameters, with deactivation of the number of the patch elements.   
     
     
         13 . The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the processor further configured to:
 store the number of patch elements to be deactivated in a memory together with its associated parameters, wherein the associated parameters include at least one of configuration id, application type, associated cell information, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).   
     
     
         14 . The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of antenna performance parameters includes at least one of an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) transmission power, a block error rate (BLER) and antenna gain of the at least one active antenna module. 
     
     
         15 . The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor further configured to:
 calculate a current plurality of antenna performance parameters after deactivating the at least one patch element;   compare the current plurality of antenna performance parameters with a predetermined plurality of antenna parameters; and   deactivate or activate one or more patch elements of the at least one active module, based on a result of the comparison   
     
     
         16 . The UE of  claim 15 , wherein the predetermined plurality of antenna parameters is determined before deactivation of the at least one patch element. 
     
     
         17 . The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor further configured to:
 receive a paging information to be decoded; and   decode the paging information with the number of deactivated patch elements.   
     
     
         18 . The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor further configured to:
 determine whether the UE is to transmit or receive signalling information (SI); and   transmit or receive the signalling information (SI) with the number of deactivated patch elements.   
     
     
         19 . The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor further configured to:
 determine whether an uplink/downlink (UL/DL) activity of the UE is below a threshold;   determine whether a block error rate (BLER) is within a specified range based on determining that the UL/DL activity of the UE is below the threshold;   deactivate the one or more patch elements of the at least one antenna module based on determining that the BLER is within the specified range;   monitor change in the BLER after deactivation of the one or more patch elements;   determine whether the change in the BLER is above a down threshold; and   perform the UL/DL activity with the deactivated one or more patch elements, based on determining that the change in the BLER is above the down threshold.   
     
     
         20 . The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of patch elements corresponds to a plurality of phased array elements.